McDonald Replaces Injured ‘Kid,’ Meets Cariaso at UFC 130

“‘Kid’ Yamamoto has withdrawn from his May 28 bout vs. Chris
Cariaso due to injury,” said UFC President Dana White. “In his
place will be [the] UFC’s youngest fighter and one of its most
exciting, Michael McDonald, who is coming off a recent ‘Fight of
The Night’ performance. Chris Cariaso carries a great record of his
own with a fast style, and he plans on cementing his place in the
bantamweight division with a win over the highly touted prospect.
Both have verbally agreed to the fight.”

UFC 130 goes down May 28 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas and will be headlined by a lightweight title rematch between
Frankie
Edgar and Gray
Maynard. The event will also feature a light heavyweight
confrontation in the co-main event between former champion Quinton
Jackson and Matt
Hamill.

A brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, McDonald has been bested only
once in his three-year professional career. Following a successful
run in both Gladiator Challenge and Tachi Palace Fights, the
20-year-old debuted under the Zuffa banner at WEC 52 in November,
submitting Clint
Godfrey with a first-round armbar. The bantamweight then earned
“Fight of the Night” in his Octagon debut, outpointing the game
Edwin
Figueroa en route to a unanimous nod at UFC Fight Night 24 in
March.

A Strikeforce veteran, Cariaso debuted with the WEC in June,
earning a unanimous decision over Rafael
Rebello at WEC 49. “Kamikaze” tasted defeat in his next outing,
however, as the Californian was choked out by
Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado at WEC 53 in December. The
bantamweight rebounded from the loss with another victory in 2011,
outpointing Will
Campuzano at UFC Fight Night 23 in January.